Locking handle

ABSTRACT

Devices and methods for folding handles are disclosed.

SUMMARY

Devices and methods for locking handles are disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically shows a locking handle assembly configured for usein an air gun.

FIG. 2 schematically shows a cross-section of the assembly shown in FIG.1.

FIG. 3 schematically shows a cross-section of the assembly shown in FIG.1 is perspective.

FIG. 4 schematically shows the same cross-section shown in FIG. 3, butincluding only one part.

FIG. 5 schematically shows a different locking handle assembly for usein an air gun.

FIG. 6 schematically shows yet another locking handle assembly for usein an air gun.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In many devices it can be useful to have a handle that can eitherdeployed or stowed as the user selects, and it can be particularlyuseful to have the handle lock in either or both positions. A handle anda body can be attached in such a way that the handle is biased toward alocked position with a locking portion of the handle sized and shaped tobe mated with a locking portion of the base. The locking portion of thehandle can be complementary to the locking portion of the base. The biascan be achieved by means of a spring. The handle may be lockable in morethan one position. For example, the base may have two different lockingportions, both of which are complementary to the same locking portion ofthe handle. The base and handle can be attached in such a way that thelocking portion of the handle can be disengaged from a locking portionof the base with out entirely detaching the base and handle. In thatdisengaged state, the handle can be moved between multiple positions,for example between a deployed position and a stowed position.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a locking handle assembly configured for usein an air gun. The assembly includes a supply port 1 where pressurizedair is supplied. A trigger 2 can be depressed to create a fluidconnection between supply port 1 and exhaust port 7. The trigger isgenerally surrounded by trigger guard 3. A gudgeon 4 is fixedly attachedto the assembly. A folding handle 5 is rotatably attached to the gudgeon4 by way of a roll pin 6. The static handle 8 is part of the assemblyand is fixedly attached without the possibility of rotating relative tothe rest of the assembly.

In use with an air gun, the assembly shown in FIG. 1 would have an airsupply, e.g., a hose, attached to supply port 1 and an output nozzleattached to exhaust port 7, typically separated from the exhaust port 7by an elongated shaft. In FIG. 1 this would extend to the left fromexhaust port 7. As shown, folding handle 5 is stowed. In thisconfiguration the user can grip static handle 8 to control the air gun.In its extended position, folding handle 5 would be roughly parallel tothe static handle, i.e., vertical in FIG. 1. With the folding handle 5in the extended position, the user could grip the static handle 8 withone hand and the folding handle 5 with the other hand. A user couldcontrol the air gun, for example, like a jack-hammer by holding thefolding and static handles 5, 8 generally parallel to the ground withthe elongated shaft generally vertical and the nozzle pointing towardthe ground. Such an assembly could easily be configured for use on anyobject in which a locking handle would be advantageous, particularlyother tools.

FIG. 2 schematically shows a cross-section of the assembly shown inFIG. 1. All elements visible in FIG. 1 are shown in FIG. 2 as well. Incross-section, the interior of the folding handle 5 can be seen. Thefolding handle 5 defines a blind bore 12 which contains the piston 9 andthe spring 11. The piston defines a piston axis 10 that passes throughthe middle of the piston and also through the roll pin 6. The pistonaxis 10 is shown as a dashed line in FIGS. 2 and 3. The piston 9 definesa through hole through which the roll pin 6 passes. The roll pin 6 mayeither be fixedly attached to the gudgeon 4 or may be allowed to rotatewith respect to the gudgeon 4, but in any case, the piston 9 and foldinghandle 5 are allowed to rotate with respect to the gudgeon, at least incertain states. The piston 9 also has a piston ledge 13. The spring 11surrounds a portion of the piston 9 and one end of spring 11 seatsagainst the piston ledge 13. The other end of the spring 11 seatsagainst a handle ledge 21 (not marked in FIG. 2 because of crowding, butmarked and visible in FIG. 3). Because the piston 9 is constrained bythe roll pin 6, the piston 9 cannot move along the piston axis 10. Thefolding handle 5 can translate along the piston axis 10. The effect ofthe spring 11 is to urge the folding handle 5 along the piston axis 10toward the roll pin 6 and gudgeon 4.

As shown the roll pin 6 is free to rotate in the gudgeon 4 and also inthe folding handle 5. In other embodiments, the roll pin 6 may be eitherfixedly attached to or an integral part of either the gudgeon 4 or thefolding handle 5. But the roll pin 6 may not be fixed with respect toboth the gudgeon 4 and the folding handle 5. If it were, then thefolding handle 5 would also be fixed with respect to the gudgeon 4. Asshown the gudgeon 4 is integrally formed with the main body of theassembly, but could alternatively be a separate part fixedly attached.

The folding handle 5 is not entirely unconstrained. The piston 9includes a guiding pin 18 that rides in an elongated guiding groove 19defined by the folding handle 5. The guiding groove 19 does not extendthe full length of the blind bore 12. When a user pulls the foldinghandle 5 away from the gudgeon 4 along the piston axis 10, eventuallythe folding handle 5 can hit a stop. The stop may be due to contactbetween the guiding pin 18 and the end of the guiding groove 19. Thislimits the possible excursion of the folding handle 5 along the pistonaxis 10. Or the excursion may simply be limited by the compressibilityof the spring 11. The primary (although not the only) function of theguiding pin 18 and guiding groove 19 is to the prevent the foldinghandle 5 from rotating about the piston axis 10. In some embodiments,the folding handle 5 can be free to rotate about the piston axis 10. Asshown, the folding handle 5 has a roughly trapezoidal profile. If thefolding handle 5 had, for example, a circular cross-sectional profile,rotation about the piston axis 10 would not be undesirable.

At the end near the gudgeon 4, the folding handle 5 has a chamfered end14. The gudgeon 4 defines two divots 15, 16. Each divot is sized andshaped to match the chamfered end 14. The first divot 15 is visible inFIGS. 2 and 3 because it is empty. The second divot 16 is not visiblebecause it is filled by the chamfered end 14. FIG. 4 schematically showsthe same cross-section shown in FIG. 3, but including only the main bodyof the assembly without the folding handle 5, and so in FIG. 4 bothdivots 15, 16 are visible since neither is filled by the chamfered end.

With the chamfered end 14 fully seated in the second divot 16, thefolding handle 5 is in a locked state and is not free to rotate aboutthe roll pin 6. To transition the folding handle 5 to an unlocked state,the user pulls the folding handle 5 along the piston axis 10 until thechamfered end 14 is clear of the second divot 16. In order to pull thefolding handle 5 clear of the second divot 16, the user must compressthe spring 11, which normally urges the folding handle 5 in the lockedposition. Once pulled clear, the folding handle 5 is then free to rotateabout the roll pin 6. The folding handle 5, the piston 9 and the spring11 rotate as a single unit about the roll pin 6.

The folding handle 5, once in the unlocked state, can be rotated so thatthe chamfered end 14 is above the first divot 15. The folding handle 5can then be released so that the spring 11 urges the chamfered end 14into the first divot 15. This transitions the folding handle 5 back intoa locked state, this time locked in the first divot 15 rather than thesecond divot 16. When locked into the first divot 15 the folding handle5 is generally parallel to the static handle 8.

Although the folding handle 5 is shown with a chamfered end 14 and thegudgeon 4 is shown with conical divots 15, 16 a wide variety of matingshapes could suffice. A cylindrical end could mate with a generallycylindrical bore in the gudgeon 4. Or any other pair of mating, lockingshapes could be used.

The exhaust port 7 is the mouth of an air channel inside the assembly.When an elongated air-gun shaft is affixed to the exhaust port 7, theelongated shaft can be generally aligned with longitudinal axis 17 shownas a dashed line in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. As shown, the folding handle 5 hastwo different locked states. When the folding handle 5 is locked in thefirst divot 15, the piston axis 10 and longitudinal axis 17 aregenerally perpendicular, while the folding handle 5 is generallyparallel to the static handle 8 so that the assembly is ready to be heldlike a jackhammer. When the folding handle 5 is locked in the seconddivot 16, the piston axis 10 and the longitudinal axis 17 are generallyparallel and the folding handle 5 is stowed.

One feature of the depicted assembly is the type of motion necessary totransition the folding handle 5 from the state of being locked in thefirst divot 15 to the unlocked state. When air is expelled through theexhaust port 7, for example into and then through and out of anelongated shaft of an air gun aligned with the longitudinal axis 17, therecoil on the assembly will tend to be along the longitudinal axis 17.When the folding handle is locked in the first divot 15, the piston axis10 is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 17. So the recoil on theassembly will tend to push on the folding handle 5 perpendicular to theonly direction it is allowed to move, namely along the piston axis 10.Conversely, the folding handle 5 cannot be unlocked by the recoil, sinceto unlock the folding handle 5 it must be moved along the piston axis10, which has no or essentially no component along the longitudinal axis17.

In the depicted embodiment, the folding handle 5 rotates in only onesense, about the axis of the roll pin 6. But in other embodiments, adifferent sort of pivot could be used to allow the handle to rotate inmore than one sense, for example a ball and socket. Likewise, thefolding handle could lock in more than two positions, for example,three, or four, or more. The locked positions could be separated by 90degrees as shown, 180 degrees, 60 degrees, 45 degrees, 30 degrees, orany other angle, for example an angle that proves convenient orotherwise ergonomic for a user's grip on the device.

As shown, the assembly includes a pressure gauge 20 located so as to beclearly visible to a user who is gripping the air gun as if it were ajackhammer.

As an alternative to the particular example shown in the figures, thehandle could move from stowed to deployed, not by rotating relative tothe assembly, but by translating. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, thehandle 501 could be slidably mounted relative to the body 502 so thatthe handle 501 could be put in either a stowed position as shown, or ina deployed position 503 (shown in a dashed line). The handle 501 could,similar to other embodiments, include a chamfered end that seats in oneof two divots. The handle could be biased toward seating its chamferedend in the divots by means of an internal spring and piston. In thisembodiment, the user pulls the handle 501 away from the body 502 so thatthe chamfered end clears the divot, thus compressing an internal spring,similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4. Then the user slides,rather than rotates, the handle 501 into a deployed position, where theuser then releases the handle so that the spring pushes the chamferedend into a different divot. The assembly may include more than twodivots, so that the handle can be locked in two, three, four or moredifferent positions.

In some embodiments, the handle can be both slidable and rotatable. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 6, similar to the embodiment in FIG. 5, thehandle 601 can be disengaged from the base 602 and slid into a firstdeployed position 603. In addition, the handle can then be rotated,similar to the handle on the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4, to a seconddeployed position 604.

A locking handle assembly can include a gudgeon, a roll pin, a pistondefining a piston axis, a spring, and a handle. The roll pin can beoperably attached to the gudgeon so that the roll pin cannot translaterelative to the gudgeon. The piston can be operably attached to the rollpin so that the piston can rotate about the roll pin but cannototherwise translate relative to the roll pin or the gudgeon. The handlecan define a blind bore substantially aligned with the piston axis. Thespring and a portion of the piston can be arranged within the blind boreso that the spring biases the handle relative to the piston toward thegudgeon along the piston axis. The handle can be configured totransition between a first locked state and an unlocked state bytranslating relative to the piston along the piston axis. When thehandle is in the first locked state, (a) a chamfered end of the handlecan be held in contact with a first divot, the first divot being definedby the gudgeon and being sized and shaped to mate with the chamferedend, and (b) the chamfered end can be held in contact with the firstdivot by the bias of the spring acting along the piston axis such thatinterference of the chamfered end with the first divot substantiallyprevents the handle, the piston and the spring from rotating relative tothe gudgeon. When the handle is in the unlocked state, (a) the handlecan be farther from the gudgeon along the piston axis than in the lockedstate so that the chamfered end of the handle is clear of the firstdivot, thereby allowing the handle, the piston and the spring to rotaterelative to the gudgeon, (b) the handle can be urged along the pistonaxis by the bias of the spring, and (c) the spring can be morecompressed along the piston axis in the unlocked state than in thelocked state.

In such assemblies, the gudgeon can further define a second divot sizedand shaped to mate with the chamfered end, the handle can be furtherconfigured to transition between the unlocked state and a second lockedstate by translating relative to the piston axis, when the handle is inthe second locked state, (a) the chamfered end of the handle can be heldin contact with the second divot, and (b) the chamfered end can be heldin contact with the second divot by the bias of the spring acting alongthe piston axis such that interference of the chamfered end with thesecond divot substantially prevents the handle, the piston and thespring from rotating relative to the gudgeon, and the first and seconddivots can be spaced apart on the gudgeon so that in the first lockedstate the handle assumes a first orientation relative to the gudgeon andin the second locked state the handle assumes a second orientationrelative to the gudgeon. In the first orientation the piston axis can berotated 90 degrees about the roll pin relative to the second orientationof the piston axis.

An air gun can include such a locking handle assembly and an elongatedshaft defining a longitudinal axis. The elongated shaft can include auser end configured to be supplied with pressurized air, and a workingend configured to discharge pressurized air, the shaft can define achannel substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis, the user endcan be in fluid communication with the working end through the channel,the gudgeon can be fixedly attached to the elongated shaft adjacent tothe user end such that the gudgeon can neither rotate nor translaterelative to the elongated shaft, the piston axis in the firstorientation can be substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis,and the piston axis in the second orientation can be substantiallyparallel to the longitudinal axis.

In some embodiments, a locking handle assembly can include a base, alocking handle operably attached to the base, and a means for disposingthe handle relative to the base so that the handle either (a) cannottranslate relative to the base in at least a first position and a secondposition relative to the base, or (b) can transition between the firstand second positions. The means for disposing the handle can, forexample, include the roll-pin-and-gudgeon-type assembly shown in FIGS.1-4, or an assembly in which the handle translates relative to the baseas shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, or any other type of assembly in which thehandle can be in (a) a locked state in any of two or more lockedpositions, or (b) a transition state in which the handle can movebetween the various locked states.

What is claimed is:
 1. A locking handle assembly comprising a gudgeon, aroll pin, a piston defining a piston axis, a spring, and a handle,wherein: the roll pin is operably attached to the gudgeon so that theroll pin cannot translate relative to the gudgeon; the piston isoperably attached to the roll pin so that the piston can rotate aboutthe roll pin but cannot otherwise translate relative to the roll pin orthe gudgeon; the handle defines a blind bore substantially aligned withthe piston axis; the spring and a portion of the piston are arrangedwithin the blind bore so that the spring biases the handle relative tothe piston toward the gudgeon along the piston axis; the handle isconfigured to transition between a first locked state and an unlockedstate by translating relative to the piston along the piston axis; whenthe handle is in the first locked state: (a) a chamfered end of thehandle is held in contact with a first divot, the first divot beingdefined by the gudgeon and being sized and shaped to mate with thechamfered end; and (b) the chamfered end is held in contact with thefirst divot by the bias of the spring acting along the piston axis suchthat interference of the chamfered end with the first divotsubstantially prevents the handle, the piston and the spring fromrotating relative to the gudgeon; and when the handle is in the unlockedstate: (a) the handle is farther from the gudgeon along the piston axisthan in the locked state so that the chamfered end of the handle isclear of the first divot, thereby allowing the handle, the piston andthe spring to rotate relative to the gudgeon; (b) the handle is urgedalong the piston axis by the bias of the spring; and (c) the spring ismore compressed along the piston axis in the unlocked state than in thelocked state.
 2. A locking handle assembly according to claim 1 wherein:the gudgeon further defines a second divot sized and shaped to mate withthe chamfered end; the handle is further configured to transitionbetween the unlocked state and a second locked state by translatingrelative to the piston axis; when the handle is in the second lockedstate: (a) the chamfered end of the handle is held in contact with thesecond divot; and (b) the chamfered end is held in contact with thesecond divot by the bias of the spring acting along the piston axis suchthat interference of the chamfered end with the second divotsubstantially prevents the handle, the piston and the spring fromrotating relative to the gudgeon; and the first and second divots arespaced apart on the gudgeon so that in the first locked state the handleassumes a first orientation relative to the gudgeon and in the secondlocked state the handle assumes a second orientation relative to thegudgeon.
 3. A locking handle assembly according to claim 2 wherein thepiston axis in the first orientation is rotated 90 degrees about theroll pin relative to the piston axis in the second orientation.
 4. Anair gun comprising the locking handle assembly of claim 3 and anelongated shaft defining a longitudinal axis, wherein: the elongatedshaft includes a user end configured to be supplied with pressurizedair, and a working end configured to discharge pressurized air, theshaft defines a channel substantially aligned with the longitudinalaxis; the user end is in fluid communication with the working endthrough the channel; the gudgeon is fixedly attached to the elongatedshaft adjacent to the user end such that the gudgeon can neither rotatenor translate relative to the elongated shaft; the piston axis in thefirst orientation is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinalaxis; and the piston axis in the second orientation is substantiallyparallel to the longitudinal axis.
 5. A locking handle assemblycomprising: a base; a locking handle operably attached to the base; anda means for disposing the handle relative to the base so that the handleeither (a) cannot translate relative to the base in at least a firstposition and a second position relative to the base, or (b) cantransition between the first and second positions.